Until Republicans Fix This Issue, They Will Never Be Able to Hold Power In D.C.

If you break down what both major political parties promise the American people to its most basic level, Republicans are pledging to deliver small government and low tax rates while Democrats are offering big government and high tax rates. While the conservative approach has been proven to produce more economic growth and prosperity, it would be a mistake to believe that the liberal approach has no appeal. Many Americans prioritize security over prosperity, dependence over independence and collectivism over individualism.

But, here is the kicker: Not only are Republicans failing to live up to their promises, they’re doing it in a way that hurts them while maximizing the advantage for the Democrats.

Again, what Republicans promise is small government and low tax rates, but what they actually bring to the table is medium government (compared to the Democrats at least) and low tax rates. That undercuts the key reason to vote for the GOP in the first place (small government) and worse yet, it lets the Democrats off the hook because it allows them to offer big government AND low tax rates with a massive deficit funding the difference between outlays and incoming revenue.

That’s very problematic for the GOP since big government and low tax rates are considerably more appealing to the average voter than big government and high tax rates. That’s because big government might not be worth what it would cost in taxes, but most people aren’t opposed to getting benefits and services from the government as long as they believe someone else will foot the bill. Incidentally, this is just what the Democrats are claiming will happen. They’re falsely assuring the public that “the rich” can pay for everything.

This is how the Republican Party in D.C. is contributing to its own political demise. It demands low taxes, which is all well and good, but then it shrugs its shoulders and accommodates a vast, sprawling federal government that can’t possibly be paid for without much higher taxes on the middle class. So, instead of the middle class being taxed into oblivion to pay for programs they don’t think are worth the money, 47% of Americans don’t pay a dime’s worth of income tax, we’re running unsustainable trillion dollar deficits every year and the GOP doesn’t do much beyond give a little lip service to the idea that this is a problem.

In other words, by failing to live up to the principles the Republican Party stands for, the GOP is creating a political environment that is so heavily slanted towards the Democrats that even the least competent President in American history just managed to be reelected. Until this issue is addressed seriously by the GOP or, worse yet, we are forced to address it as a nation because of an economic crisis, Republicans will be at a huge disadvantage in every election cycle.